In an article by Kevin Baker published by Politico on Aug 28 2021, Baker seems to intend to outshine the rank and file commentaries on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Politico has given his piece the headline "The Old Cliche About Afghanistan that Won't Die." Baker begins:
It was inevitable. With the hurried end of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, the old epitaph has been revived already in dozens of newspaper headlines, editorial cartoons and think pieces. It seems to spring from the lips of every other television commentator.
“Afghanistan,” we are told, as if this explains everything, “is the graveyard of empires.”
Uh-huh. The thing is, I don't see anyone claiming that this explains everything.
Baker goes on to point out that the many empires which have invaded Afghanistan over the course of thousands of year have not been ended by these invasions.
Who said any of them were?
Finally, Baker tells us that these invasions have been very bad for the people of Afghanistan, that they have suffered very much.
Who didn't already know that?
I don't see the point of Baker's piece, unless Politico wanted to see how many strawmen someone could line up within a thousand words or so. Based on this piece, I can't recommend Kevin Baker as a writer or a political commentator or an expert on anything. If, however, you're looking for a conceited blowhard to just blather on, Kevin Baker may be your man. I fear he may be under the impression that what he has produced here is not just a think piece, but an exemplary one. It is an exemplary example of something.
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